crsides
US Veteran, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
chunk it.
Charlie
Charlie
Removing reversed primer
- Thread starter John Hill
- Start date
Anybody that has loaded long enough has probably done this.
How many ignition problems are due to not seating the primer deep enough -- i.e. anvil not bottomed out -- this with direct firing pin hits.
Not a recommendation, but I just decap them slowly (with eye protection, which should be used with any reloading operation). Everybody needs to do what they feel comfortable with.
About 50 years ago, I had a primer go off when seating with an original Lee Loader (hammer/steel punch used to seat primers). Startled? Yes! But priming punch never even moved.
FWIW,
Paul
How many ignition problems are due to not seating the primer deep enough -- i.e. anvil not bottomed out -- this with direct firing pin hits.
Not a recommendation, but I just decap them slowly (with eye protection, which should be used with any reloading operation). Everybody needs to do what they feel comfortable with.
About 50 years ago, I had a primer go off when seating with an original Lee Loader (hammer/steel punch used to seat primers). Startled? Yes! But priming punch never even moved.
FWIW,
Paul
Bkreutz
US Veteran
I have 2 loaded rounds with reversed primers sitting on a shelf. Both of them were factory Federal rounds. One cost me a match and the other was found during training. I keep them because they remind me of one more reason I reload my own ammo.
Personally I wouldn't worry about rescuing that old brass unless it was of a valuable caliber (38 super, 357 SIG). If I happened to load one backwards (almost impossible since the Dillon primer tube won't feed a primer put in backwards, at least mine won't. I put one in backwards and had to poke it out with a dowel and then there was a burr on the tube which made it useless until I polished out the interior with a .177 brush)
Personally I wouldn't worry about rescuing that old brass unless it was of a valuable caliber (38 super, 357 SIG). If I happened to load one backwards (almost impossible since the Dillon primer tube won't feed a primer put in backwards, at least mine won't. I put one in backwards and had to poke it out with a dowel and then there was a burr on the tube which made it useless until I polished out the interior with a .177 brush)
Twoboxer
Member
I've never had a reversed primer, but after following this thread a while I think I've figured out what I would personally do:
- Push the primer out using whatever I use for depriming.
- Reinsert the primer correctly.
- Chamber the primed but otherwise empty brass and fire it, 2 or 3 times if necessary.
- Remove the primer whether it fired or not, and discard with other spent primers.
- Put the brass back in the "to be loaded" pile.
- Push the primer out using whatever I use for depriming.
- Reinsert the primer correctly.
- Chamber the primed but otherwise empty brass and fire it, 2 or 3 times if necessary.
- Remove the primer whether it fired or not, and discard with other spent primers.
- Put the brass back in the "to be loaded" pile.
gregintenn
Member
I don't know. If I have an even box of say 50 pieces of brass, for some reason it breaks my heart to throw one away and have an odd number left. If I have 2367 pieces of that brass, however, it isn't as big a deal.I agree with these guys. Why bother? For goodness sake, it is one piece of brass and a single primer...throw it away!
shil
Member
If, for any reason, you MUST salvage the case, protect your eyes with safety glasses, then, VERY GENTLY, run the case through the sizer/decapper. Been there, done that.
M3Stuart
Member
+1. I keep my mistakes around so I'll think about them. It keeps me vigilant.
imashooter2
Member
It is hard to imagine what danger some perceive in decapping a live primer from a cartridge contained within a sizing die, on a press, while wearing eye and ear protection.
In the reversed primers I've pushed out, there has never even been a mark on the cup. I reuse them with confidence.
In the reversed primers I've pushed out, there has never even been a mark on the cup. I reuse them with confidence.
Let's try common sense
When a primer is fired, firing pin hits the cup, primer cup is held by primer pocket, primer anvil is pressed against the case bottom in the primer pocket, priming mixture is trapped between the cup and the anvil, there is a BANG, and main powder charge is ignited.
Now when a primer is seated upside down, the priming mixture is trapped between the anvil bottomed out by the primer seater stem, the primer cup bottomed out in the primer pocket, and THE PRIMING COMPOUND DIDN'T FIRE
.
If you push out an inverted primer with a sizer / decapping die, you are pushing on the primer cup with the decapping pin, but nothing is touching the primer anvil except air. The primer anvil is simply trapped by the primer cup -- IT CAN'T FIRE THE PRIMING COMPOUND.
Now let us just remain calm, deprime inverted primers, save the brass, and the 5¢ primer for a successful priming attempt.
Reloading 101, Engineering Addendum
When a primer is fired, firing pin hits the cup, primer cup is held by primer pocket, primer anvil is pressed against the case bottom in the primer pocket, priming mixture is trapped between the cup and the anvil, there is a BANG, and main powder charge is ignited.
Now when a primer is seated upside down, the priming mixture is trapped between the anvil bottomed out by the primer seater stem, the primer cup bottomed out in the primer pocket, and THE PRIMING COMPOUND DIDN'T FIRE
.If you push out an inverted primer with a sizer / decapping die, you are pushing on the primer cup with the decapping pin, but nothing is touching the primer anvil except air. The primer anvil is simply trapped by the primer cup -- IT CAN'T FIRE THE PRIMING COMPOUND.
Now let us just remain calm, deprime inverted primers, save the brass, and the 5¢ primer for a successful priming attempt.Reloading 101, Engineering Addendum
Last edited:
Wireman02
Member
When a primer is fired, firing pin hits the cup, primer cup is held by primer pocket, primer anvil is pressed against the case bottom in the primer pocket, priming mixture is trapped between the cup and the anvil, there is a BANG, and main powder charge is ignited.
Now whe a primer is seated upside down, the priming mixture is trapped between the anvil bottomed out in the primer seater, the primer cup bottomed out in the primer pocket, and THE PRIMING COMPOUND DIDN'T FIRE
If you push out an inverted primer with a sizer / decapping die, you are pushing on the primer cup with the decapping pin, but nothing is touching the primer anvil except air. The primer anvil is simply trapped by the primer cup -- IT CAN'T FIRE THE PRIMING COMPOUND.
Reloading 101, Engineering Addendum
That's yhe way I do um.
gwpercle
Member
I've de-primed a bunch. Just go slow, very slowly ease it out. Never had one pop and always was able to just flip the primer over and re-prime with it. They always fired. I hate tossing good brass just because of a reversed primer.
Not as dangerous as you would think.
I have had a lot more pop with the Lee whack-a-mole loader, it scares you when not expecting it but never hurt anything
Gary
Not as dangerous as you would think.
I have had a lot more pop with the Lee whack-a-mole loader, it scares you when not expecting it but never hurt anything
Gary
DWalt
Member
There is virtually no way to make primers inert. Some say that boiling primed cases in water works, but I have not tried that. Oil and WD-40 (and other solvents) definitely do not work, I'm not sure how the stories that they do got started.
I have ejected upside-town primers from hundreds of cases by using the decapping die. I never had one go off. If you do it slowly, there is no impact. I would suggest wearing safety glasses and keeping your hands out if the way, just in case.
Waear.....
Wear your hearing protection, too. If it goes off those little suckers are VERY loud (tapping one in with a Lee Hand Loader). I've pushed several mis-inserted primers without setting one off.
Wear your hearing protection, too. If it goes off those little suckers are VERY loud (tapping one in with a Lee Hand Loader). I've pushed several mis-inserted primers without setting one off.
Since I started reloading back in the 60's..........
I NEVER had a primer go off while backing out primers
that were set in a case backward or upside down in
shotgun, rifle or pistol & revolver loads over the years.
Safety glasses are a good idea............
In order to go off they should to be hit from the other side......
so I never made a big deal out of backing them out.
I NEVER had a primer go off while backing out primers
that were set in a case backward or upside down in
shotgun, rifle or pistol & revolver loads over the years.
Safety glasses are a good idea............
In order to go off they should to be hit from the other side......
so I never made a big deal out of backing them out.
Maximumbob54
Member
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I stopped reading about half way down. Having missed that AA #9 requires a magnum primer I had a small batch I started. Everything else was good so I just pulled the bullets and dumped the powder into another case with a magnum primer. Half way through I got curious how hard you had to hit the top of the primer with a deprime pin to ignite it. I all but slammed the arm down and still couldn't get one to ignite. At worst you get a loud pop noise. It's not a bomb.
Tin
Member
JUST PLACE A HEAVY TOWEL OR SMALL BLANKET OVER THE PRESS TO MUFFLE THE SOUND OR FLASH SHOULD IT DETONATE....TIN...
The anvil in an upside down primer is unsupported. The anvil needs to be supported for the primer to work right, which is why insufficiently seated primers (oriented correctly) frequently fail to fire. I doubt you could make it go off if you tried.
